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Dado question

03-24-2003, 08:16 AM

Last fall I bought a cheapo HSS dado set from sears and it was garbage. I took it back a week ago, and Friday I bought a 6" carbide set from rockler, I set it up Friday night after putting the finishing touches on my "TS4008". Made a couple test cuts and got smooooth flat bottom, untill I made successive passes ie, making a half lap or tennon. The outside saws are Beveled and cut a coulpe hairs deeper than the chippers. I don't see a problem with a closed tennon, but something like a half lap or others that might be seen, any suggestions, comments. I really do like the cut and could probably live with it. Its like a cadilac compared to the Sears model. I should also mention it runs so smooth and balanced. Cost was $40.
Andy

A small extra depth of cut on the outer edges is normal. This reduces chipout on the edge of the dado, a particular problem in plywood.

Your Sharpener can regrind the set to cut completely flat. It often takes a little convincing that you aren't going to come back griping about chipout, though. The whole set will need to be done to maintain a flat cut.

Comment

As the Great Knowledgable Dave A. has said, that is normal. In the case of a dado that is not seen at it's end, it's a good thing. It adds a little room for glue to settle into, instead of squeezing out.

In the case it is seen, set the depth for the outside cutters, not the chippers, and use a good sharp chisel and slice the bottom of the dado so it matches up. I always set the depth by the cutters, and clean it up with a chisel anyways for better accuracy.

The ultimate is to use a router table, but in some cases, a dado is prefered, but not often. Just in really wide panels that isn't feasable to use on the router table.

Comment

I ran into the same problem, after a while, I figured I could cut the dado a little shallower than the needed depth and I would the finish it up at the correct depth on the router table. You probably wonder why I don't just use the router. Well, the dado is faster and I don't "stress out" my router which is only a 2HP.

Comment

If you watch Norm, Whenever he has a Half lap joint that can be seen, I see him use a regular blade and nibble away as to avoid the "gouges". When he makes a joint that won't be seen, I watch him use the dado. Maybe he just alternates techniques, but I think there is something to that method.